Rembrandt self-portrait found after years of obscurity

HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT:：Experts had since 1968 thought that the painting, valued at ￡20 million, was the work of one of the Dutch master’s pupils

AP, LONDON

Tue, Mar 19, 2013 - Page 7

A painting donated to Britain’s National Trust by the estate of a wealthy supporter has been identified as a Rembrandt self-portrait worth ￡20 million (US$30 million), the heritage body said yesterday.

The painting was given to the trust in 2010 by the estate of Lady Samuel of Wych Cross, whose property developer husband was a major collector of Dutch and Flemish art. It hangs in Buckland Abbey in southwest England, the former home of 16th-century seafarer Francis Drake.

The portrait of the artist wearing a cap with a large white feather was long thought to have been done by one of Rembrandt’s pupils and was credited as in the “style of” the 17th-century Dutch master.

However, the National Trust said an investigation led by Ernst van de Wetering, the world’s leading Rembrandt expert, determined it was by Rembrandt himself.

“It’s amazing to think we might have had an actual Rembrandt hanging here on the walls at Buckland Abbey for the past couple of years,” said Jez McDermott, the National Trust property manager at the house.

Rembrandt Research Project chair Van de Wetering said that researchers in 1968 had concluded the painting — which features Rembrandt’s signature and is dated 1635, when the artist was 29 — was likely by a pupil.

“But over the past 45 years, we have gathered far more knowledge about Rembrandt’s self-portraits and the fluctuations in his style,” he said.

He said the painting’s crude brushwork and painting technique is observed in other paintings from the early stage of Rembrandt’s career.

The trust, whose mandate is to safeguard British heritage, is not allowed to sell the painting.

The trust said it would hang at Buckland Abbey for eight more months before being sent for cleaning and further examination, including X-rays, infrared testing and tree-ring dating of the beech panel it is painted on.